1. Technical Field
The invention is related to video conferencing, and more particularly to a video conferencing system and process that employs a distributed computer network, such as the Internet or a proprietary intranet, to conduct virtual conferences.
2. Background Art
Videoconferencing is an invaluable teaching and business tool that lets people at different locations hear and see each other during the course of a conference. The fact that conference participants can see each other as they speak makes it seem as if they are in the same room. This visual connection between the participants fosters understanding of the topics being discussed in a way that written or verbal communications alone cannot provide. In addition, since the participants do not need to gather at the same physical location, scheduling the conference is much easier, and the cost and lost time associated with traveling to the meeting place is saved. This is especially true if the conferences are separated by large distances, for example in another city or state or even country.
In the past videoconferencing systems typically required the use of an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) connection as this was the only way to provide the dedicated bandwidth needed to ensure high quality video feeds. However, more recently progress has been made in the field Internet-based videoconferencing systems. Granted early attempts were problematic because the video data had to compete for bandwidth with other data flowing across the network, resulting in lost data which caused unreliable connections and substandard video. This problem has been mitigated somewhat with the use of high bandwidth private networks (intranets). These improved results may even be available in the future over high bandwidth public networks, such as proposed by the Internet2 project.
However, even with improved bandwidth, there is still a lack of video conferencing systems and processes designed for connecting people at different locations in a distributed conference on a public computer network or private intranet which provide ease of use, and high quality, low latency audio and video.